Merchants that operate network-accessible marketplaces may maintain electronic catalogs that include thousands of items (or more) offered for sale. These items may be purchased through an electronic checkout process. For instance, a customer may add one or more items to an electronic shopping cart, as well as provide payment and shipping details. The merchant may ship the items to the customer using a shipping carrier or postal service. Generally, shipments are provided to a customer's address via one or more shipping carrier vehicles. For instance, a delivery truck may travel the streets of an urban area and deliver a shipment containing ordered items to a customer's apartment or condominium. In some regions, parking locations for shipping carrier vehicles may be unavailable or cost-prohibitive. In some cases, shipping carrier vehicles may be left to idle during one or more deliveries. This process may utilize costly fuel and/or contribute excess emissions into the environment, as well as contribute to traffic congestion.
While the system and method for generating a delivery plan for multi-tier delivery schemes is described herein by way of example for several embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art will recognize that the system and method for generating a delivery plan for multi-tier delivery schemes is not limited to the embodiments or drawings described. It should be understood, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the system and method for generating a delivery plan for multi-tier delivery schemes to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the system and method for generating a delivery plan for multi-tier delivery schemes as defined by the appended claims. The headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of the description or the claims. As used throughout this application, the word “may” is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). Similarly, the words “include,” “including,” and “includes” mean including, but not limited to.